The graph of youth involved in violence has been constantly moving upward. To study aggression levels amongst Gen Y in India, a NIMHANS expert team conducted a two-year survey in five Indian cities. The verdict is shocking: Eight out of 10 youth in the 15-26 years age group are angry.

Bangalore, the country’s youngest metro, is at fourth position with 79.45% of its youth found to be aggressive. The youth in Gangtok are the ‘coolest’ as they are at the bottom with 76.4 per cent. The Gen Y at Indore is the most angry with a whopping 91.67 per cent. Jammu follows with 83.08 per cent and Kochi is third with 79.96 per cent.

The study conducted by Dr Manoj Kumar Sharma, Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Psychology and Dr P Marimuthu, Assistant Professor, Department of Biostatistics, NIMHANS was released in May this year. About 3,600 youngsters were surveyed.

“Increasing number of crimes involving adolescents and children triggered this study. We found there were many factors which lead to aggression amongst young people. It can be a trivial fight with their peers or family disputes, substance use, lack of love or physical and sexual abuse,” said Dr Sharma.

The cultural difference between the North and South might be a factor behind the temperamental difference of the youth in these two regions, Dr Sharma said.

A higher percentage of women engaged in verbal aggression (95.3 per cent vs. 92.8 per cent), while males went for severe physical aggression (4.6 per cent vs. 2 per cent). The female partner, the butt of most of these aggressive actions, ended up with consequences like slight cuts/bruises, broken nose, black eye, broken bones and requiring medical treatment/hospitalisation. Women reportedly attacked their partners while under the influence of emotional states of intense anger (22.4 per cent vs. 13.9 per cent), while men did so in response to aggression received (13.0 per cent vs. 6.6 per cent). Physical aggression decreased significantly across the age groups, but health consequences became more severe with age. For example, broken noses, black eyes and broken bones went from 1 per cent at 16 years to 4.5 per cent at 20.

Risk factors strongly related to later violence was distributed among hyperactivity (parent rating), low academic performance, peer delinquency, and availability of drugs in the neighbourhood. The ratings predicted violence from ages 10, 14, and 16 years.

Learn to manage your anger

“It is very important to learn the skill of anger management. Anger or aggression if used in a right manner can do a lot of good to a person. Sports persons are the best example of anger management,” said Dr Sharma.

Relax yourself
» Deep breathing exercise. Inhale deeply through the nose and breathe out from your mouth. When you breathe in, feel that you are breathing in inner peace, when you breathe out, feel you are exhaling all your anxiety & worries
» Close your eyes and think about a person, place or thing that makes you feel calmthink before speaking
» Take a "time out.” Counting up to 10 before reacting or leaving the situation altogether.
» Think carefully before you say anything. Write a script and rehearse it so that you can stick to the issues.
» Work with the person who angered you to identify solutions to the situation.

» Use humour to release tensions, such as imagining yourself or the other person in silly situations. Don’t use sarcasm, though — it’s just another form of unhealthy expression.

Walk away
» Leave the scene — Take yourself away from the person and/or place where you became angry.

» Walk away instead of driving away — Walking is a great way to get your anger out. Avoid driving.
» Chose safe ways to deal with anger — Take deep breaths, repeat a calming word, relax your muscles, don't drink, use violence or pick up a weapon.

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